After Eggman discovered and harnessed the Phantom Ruby, the Eggman Army was able to expand the Eggman Empire to its largest size to date, encompassing over 99% of the entire globe at its peak. After that however, the army began to get pushed back by the Resistance. Ultimately, the Eggman Army was rendered defunct after the source of its replicas was neutralized.

Contents

History

Past

The Eggman Army has been around for an unknown period of time; when it was founded is unknown, although it originally consisted of Badniks.[2]

Following his discovery of the Phantom Ruby. Eggman had a run-in with the Jackal Squad. While battling the group, Eggman discovered he could create armies of replicas with the Ruby. After then subjugating the Jackal Squad, Eggman took a liking to the group's captain and offered to make him the leader of the Eggman Army. Wishing to change this mundane world, the captain took Eggman's offer.[2]

Having seen the Phantom Ruby's power, Eggman proceeded to test the gem,[3][4] and, after several experiments, managed to create a finalized Phantom Ruby prototype.[5] This gem got incorporated into the captain of the Jackal Squad, who sought greater strength after being defeated by Shadow the Hedgehog.[5][6] This granted Infinite (as the captain called himself from then on) the ability to create a limitless amount of replicas ready to serve Eggman.[7] Eggman thus had Infinite create replicas of Shadow the Hedgehog, Zavok, Metal Sonic and Chaos, whom he incorporated into the Eggman Army as key members.

Sonic Forces

The replicas standing against Sonic.

In Sonic Forces, the Eggman Army made its first move by attacking the City with its robot infantry. When Sonic arrived to stop the invasion however, Dr. Eggman unveiled his replicas of Shadow, Zavok, Metal Sonic and Chaos. Knowing nothing of the replicas, the public believed them to be the genuine articles.[8] With the aid of Infinite, the replicas defeated Sonic, who got captured by Infinite and imprisoned onboard the Death Egg.[9] With Sonic removed from the battlefield and the support of Infinite, the Eggman Army's replicas quickly spread their army's influence and took over,[10][11] Within six months, all but a few isolated areas were under the Eggman Army's control,[10] effectively giving the Eggman Empire dominion over more than 99% of the world.

With the world under their control, the Eggman Army's factions got stationed across the globe, aiming to establish footholds in the different regions. During their six months reign however, the Eggman Army got opposed by the Resistance, a rag-tag army formed by Sonic's friends to liberate the planet.[10] However, the Resistance was unable to halt the Eggman Army's progress.[12][13] Worse yet, the Eggman Army had the world's population terrified, leaving very few willing to take up the fight against the Eggman Empire.[13][14]

Eventually, the Eggman Army encountered trouble at Spaceport when the Resistance came there and kept both them and Infinite occupied while their soldiers stole a shuttle to rescue Sonic with. Meanwhile, the Eggman Army's Chaos replica would attack Tails in the City, all while the Eggman Army laid siege to the area. However, Chaos retreated after Classic Sonic appeared from another dimension and protected Tails. The two heroes then tore through the Eggman Army in the City on their way out.

The majority of the Eggman Army onboard the Death Egg later got held back by an invasion from the Resistance coming to break out Sonic.[15] While the Avatar searched for Sonic, the Eggman Army's Zavok replica tried to take Sonic to his scheduled execution. However, Sonic managed to break free thanks to a power outage and defeat the Zavok replica. The robots of the Eggman Army tried afterward to stop Sonic from escaping the Death Egg, only to fail when Sonic linked up with the Avatar and escaped in a shuttle. After that, the Eggman Army robots tried to stop Sonic and the Avatar from destroying Arsenal Pyramid, a factory supplying the Eggman Army with munition for their war efforts,[16] but failed.

Infinite preparing to battle Sonic.

Shortly thereafter, the Eggman Army attacked the local Resistance squads in Mystic Jungle; using the Eggman Fleet, the army scattered bombs all over the jungle, setting the Resistance back. Meanwhile, Infinite would come to the jungle to gather the missing Phantom Ruby prototypes. While there, he had a brief scuffle with Sonic and Silver, whom him let live in the belief that they were not worth bothering with. Tails and Classic Sonic soon after got through Green Hill's Eggman Army while looking for Eggman. There, Infinite had a meeting with Eggman to discuss current events and the plan that would wipe out the Resistance, unaware that Tails and Classic Sonic were listening in on them. At the same time, the Eggman Army would break into the City.[17] Thanks to the Avatar however, the Eggman Army was forced into retreat by the Resistance.[18] The Eggman Army subsequently experienced further setbacks when they lost dominion over Mystic Jungle, which got reclaimed by the Resistance after the Avatar, Tails and Classic Sonic took care of the robot armies there. Some time after, the Eggman Army attacked the City again, this time with an army of Death Egg Robot sentinels and the Shadow replica.[8][19] Coming to the City's rescue, Sonic confronted the Shadow replica while the Resistance kept the Death Egg Robot sentinels in check.[19] It was then that the real Shadow showed up and took out his replica, before informing the Resistance of what the Eggman Army's replicas really were.

Eventually, the Eggman Army became undermanned at Eggman's headquarters in Metropolis, presumably from staging somewhere else as a part of Eggman's endgame,[20] which the Resistance used to launch a full-scale attack on Metropolis. Although the Resistance's attack started out strong, the Eggman Army gained the upper hand when Infinite used his powers to sent the Resistance troops into disarray. In the end, the Eggman Army won when the Resistance decided to retreat. In the aftermath, Infinite had a brief confrontation with the Avatar when they came across him, although he let them live so they could swelter in fear from knowing that Eggman's endgame was coming.

Soon after, the Eggman Army's Chemical Plant got infiltrated by Classic Sonic and Tails, whom managed to steal some important data. In the meantime, a suped-up Metal Sonic replica would surface in the City, along with Death Egg Robot sentinels. However, Sonic and the Avatar were able to stop them, which made the Eggman Army lose their dominion over the City. The Eggman Army soon after went to deal the Avatar, who were causing a ruckus in Guardian Rock, only to fail in their task and allowing the Resistance to reclaim Green Hill. To make matters worse, it turned out the Avatar was but a distraction: while the Eggman Army was busy dealing with the Avatar, Sonic had made it through the remainder of Eggman's forces in Network Terminal and shut down the Death Egg's weapons systems from the main computer; this was all part of the Resistance's plan to destroy the power source for Infinite's Phantom Ruby onboard the Death Egg. Though the Eggman Army managed to keep the Death Egg going,[21] they could not stop Classic Sonic from destroying the Death Egg. With the Death Egg's destruction, the Eggman Army was left with only the backup power source beneath the Eggman Empire Fortress to power Infinite's Phantom Ruby.

The Eggman Army retreating from Metropolis.

The Eggman Army in Metropolis soon after faced another attack from the Resistance, who sought to capture Eggman. During attack, Infinite banished Sonic and the Avatar to Null Space, only for the two of them to return to Metropolis soon after. In the meantime, the Eggman Army got pushed back by the Resistance's fleet,[22] before ultimately withdrawing from Metropolis. Now left with dominion over only the Eggman Empire Fortress, the Eggman Army made their stance against the Resistance when they attacked on the day of the execution of Eggman's endgame. There, hundreds of replicas of Shadow, Zavok, Chaos and Metal Sonic faced the Resistance's ground troops while the Eggman Fleet engaged the Resistance's fleet in the sky. Eventually, Infinite put Eggman's endgame into effect by creating a virtual sun over the planet to drop on the Resistance with. However, the sun was undone by the Avatar in spite of the Eggman Army's efforts, leaving the remainder of the army to face the Resistance on their own.

As the Eggman Army started to get the advantage,[23] Infinite got defeated for good by Sonic and the Avatar. Despite this, the Eggman Army continued onward, right up until the Phantom Ruby's backup power source got taken out by the Resistance. Having anticipated this however, Eggman incorporated the original Phantom Ruby into his Death Egg Robot, allowing him to bolster the Eggman Army by create thousands of replicas for it. However, the Death Egg Robot soon got destroyed by Sonic, Classic Sonic and the Avatar. This resulted in the Eggman Army losing all of its replicas, which allowed the Resistance to free the world from the Eggman Empire.

Weapons and technology

Aircrafts: The Eggman Army has a substantial fleet:

Eggman Fleet: The Eggman Empire's aerial assault armada that is composed of what seems like hundreds or thousands of battleships. Bristling with laser guns and bombardment artillery, its power in military might remains unmatched throughout the universe. The battleships themselves are streamlined with spaceship-like designs.

Robots: The Eggman Army commands nearly unlimited hordes of robots developed and designed by Dr. Eggman. These include:

Badniks: The Eggman Empire's brand of mass-produced robot forces. They serve as the Eggman Army's primary foot soldiers. The Badniks utilized by the Eggman Army are designed for military operations, with most of them being old models redesigned to be better suited for warfare. The majority of them consist of:

Metal Sonic: A highly advanced, ultra-performance Badnik made to resemble the greatest enemy of the Eggman Empire: Sonic the Hedgehog. This Badnik was created by Dr. Eggman to surpass Sonic in both speed and abilities. Although the real model was not utilized by the Eggman Army, the army had an unlimited numbers of Metal Sonic replicas created by the Phantom Ruby. These replicas served as one of the main soldiers of the Eggman Army.

Sandworm: A caterpillar-based Badnik equipped with either lasers or flamethrowers.

Valkeen: An aerial attack drone based on a fighter jet that drop bombs.

Death Egg Robot sentinel: A large, mass-produced variant of the first Death Egg Robot that can operate independently. These units are equipped with massive lasers. Each one also possesses enough destructive potential to level entire urban areas. Due to their high numbers, they are an army in themselves.

Phantom Ruby: The main weapon of the Eggman Army. Possessing the power of "virtual reality", this gem can take control of a person's visual and depths perception to feed false information to the brain, creating a new reality for them. In short, this gem can create illusions so real that they can physically affect their victims. However, it needs large facilities to supply it with energy in order for it to work. Several prototypes of the gem with similar powers were created during Eggman's experiments, the last of which was given to the Eggman Army's leader, Infinite. The gem and its final prototype are also the source of the Eggman Army's replicas.

Piloted mecha: The Eggman Army has a couple of machine units that can operate independently or with a pilot. These include:

Death Egg Robot: The signature mech of Dr. Eggman. This version of the Death Egg Robot incorporates the original Phantom Ruby, which allows the mech to harness the full extent of the Ruby's powers, and an independent power supply for said gem, thereby making the Phantom Ruby an "invulnerable ruby". It can also overclock the Phantom Ruby and is impervious to regular tools.

Egg Dragoon: A mechanical dragon mech loaded with weapons. This mech is specifically designed to combat Sonic the Hedgehog.

References

↑Sonic Team (7 November 2017). Sonic Forces (Episode Shadow). Nintendo Switch. Sega. Area/Level: Eggman's Facility. "Dr. Eggman: Ugh. At least the analysis of the stone was completed yesterday, but... No, I still can't let this facility be destroyed! Is there ANYONE left out there!?"

↑ 5.05.1Sonic Team (7 November 2017). Sonic Forces. Nintendo Switch. Sega. Area/Level: World Map. "Tails: Eggman experimented with lots of prototypes, and then incorporated the final version into Infinite."

↑Sonic Team (7 November 2017). Sonic Forces (Episode Shadow). Nintendo Switch. Sega. "Infinite: That day, I gave up my own unsightly face. And I let go of the old me, the one that was so weak, so that I could become stronger. And then, at last... I obtained the power. The power to make all yield to my will. I... was... REBORN!"

↑Sonic Team (7 November 2017). Sonic Forces. Nintendo Switch. Sega. Area/Level: World Map. "Shadow: Infinite can create virtual reality projections. They have mass and form, but no heart or soul. / Sonic: Virtual reality? So all those familiar faces that were a part of Eggman's army... / Shadow: Replicas. The problem is, they may not be real, but their powers are as formidable as the originals. According to Rouge, Infinite can create unlimited numbers of them."

↑ 8.08.1Sonic Team (7 November 2017). Sonic Forces. Nintendo Switch. Sega. Area/Level: World Map. "Vector: Hey, I hate to butt in on your important meeting, but we're under attack! Shadow is tearing through our troops! We need reinforcements! / Sonic: Shadow... The last time I saw him he was fighting for Eggman. / Knuckles: That doesn't make sense. Why would Shadow help the enemy?"

↑ 10.010.110.2Sonic Team (7 November 2017). Sonic Forces. Nintendo Switch. Sega. "With Sonic defeated, Eggman's army quickly took over. Within months, all but a few isolated areas in the world were under their control. Despite the overwhelming odds, a rag-tag resistance formed banding together to continue the fight."

↑Sonic Team (7 November 2017). Sonic Forces. Nintendo Switch. Sega. "Knuckles: Eggman's forces have chewed through our defenses at Green Hill, and the resistance in the city is reporting that whatever it is that finished Sonic... Sorry, I'm still not used to saying that. Whatever it is has them running in fear."

↑ 13.013.1Sonic Team (7 November 2017). Sonic Forces. Nintendo Switch. "Vector: Eggman's army is unstoppable! Without Sonic, the people are losing hope and giving into despair."

↑Sonic Team (7 November 2017). Sonic Forces. Nintendo Switch. Sega. "Silver: Eggman's army has everyone terrified. If we want the people to rally, we have to show them that strength doesn't come just come from numbers."

↑Sonic Team (7 November 2017). Sonic Forces. Nintendo Switch. Sega. Area/level: Prison Hall. "Knuckles: Listen up, rookie. Our other forces are busy dealing with enemies. It looks like you took the best route. It's up to you to save Sonic. Find him!"

↑ 19.019.1Sonic Team (7 November 2017). Sonic Forces. Nintendo Switch. Sega. Area/Level: Sunset Heights. "Vector: What the heck!? A whole army of Death Egg Robots? / Charmy: Oh no! There are so many of them! / Silver: Hurry, Sonic! We can keep them in check, but not for long."

↑Sonic Team (7 November 2017). Sonic Forces. Nintendo Switch. Sega. Area/Level: World Map. "Knuckles the Echidna: Listen up! We just got intel that Eggman's forces are undermanned at his headquarters in Metropolis! / Espio: They're probably staging somewhere else as part of Eggman's plan. This could be our only chance to take the city."

↑Sonic Team (7 November 2017). Sonic Forces. Nintendo Switch. Sega. Area/Level: Death Egg: Death Egg. "Knuckles: Hey, the defense system's still up! I thought we shut it down. / Tails: They probably switched over to auxiliary power.

↑Sonic Team (7 November 2017). Sonic Forces. Nintendo Switch. Sega. Area/Level: Null Space. "Sonic: How is the battle going? / Amy: We've got them on the ropes. If our fleet can keep the upper hand, we should have things under control soon.